


A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

by KatrinaKenyon



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Baby Fic, F/F, Here is some fluff, I'm ignoring all the the Avalance angst that happened in 4x09
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-05 01:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18356261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatrinaKenyon/pseuds/KatrinaKenyon
Summary: The one where Ava encounters a genie and accidentally wishes a baby into existence and then tries to hide it from Sara.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty much ignoring 4x09. I'm in denial. This fic is a two parter. I'll try and get the next part up soon, its written and just needs to be edited. Enjoy!

**Part One**

Its completely her own damn fault that she’s in the situation she’s in right now. As Director of the Time Bureau, Ava should have been paying more attention to what Mona was saying about their current magical fugitive instead of daydreaming about Sara. But how did one have a girlfriend as hot as Sara and not daydream about her? A very serious question.

They were standing in the holding cell of a fugitive who looked very human and not at all magical, which was probably why it took her agents so long to find her. Their newest acquisition was a petite woman with tan skin, dark curly hair, and dark brown eyes. Said fugitive was also currently looking at her with interest, not that she really noticed.

Her eyes flickered briefly to the fugitive and then to Mona who was still going on about …something. She really should have been paying attention instead of, she’s embarrassed to admit, thinking about Sara and babies. She didn’t really get along with kids, as evidenced by her brief and somewhat horrifying interlude at Camp Ogawa, but babies were a different story.

She hasn’t had a lot of interaction (or any really) with babies, but lately they’ve been on her mind. They were everywhere it would seem, at the grocery store, at her favorite coffee shop, even at the Time Bureau. Her employees were constantly showing each other adorable pictures of their babies. In the past this type of non-productive behavior would have irritated her, but now she finds herself joining in and cooing (internally of course) over these pictures.

Maybe the idea of babies was on her mind because she and Sara were serious now and she was giving some serious thought to their future together. Sara was at this point all but living with her and the captain even referred to the apartment as theirs. There was a promise to move in together completely one day, hopefully soon, and then marriage would probably be the next step, and then what comes after that? Oh, a baby, not that they definitely had to do any of those things or even in that order.

But a baby might not be so bad, she thought. A baby could learn to love her and maybe grow up into a kid that didn’t hate her, like those little monsters at summer camp did. So, it’s with that line of thought that she started to envision what their imaginary baby might look like. Hopefully a lot like Sara, those Caribbean sea blue eyes and that dimple for sure. She would definitely have Sara’s babies, not that she would admit that out loud.

She was so stuck in her head that she missed the fugitive, who had been gazing so intently at her, nod her head and then wave a hand in her direction. Suddenly there was a baby, a real live baby swaddle in a white blanket in her arms. She nearly squeaked in surprise, but managed to hold herself together.

“Oh my god, what just happened,” she said, panic rising in her voice.

Mona looked at her, huge dark eyes rounded in surprise. “You haven’t been paying attention to what I’ve been saying, have you Director Sharpe?”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “My mind may have been elsewhere,” she admitted.

Mona pursed her lips and looked very much like she was trying to hold back a laugh. “Well, Zelema is a genie and once she finds her new master or mistress, she can grant their wishes non-verbal or otherwise.”

 _Oh crap._ This wasn’t even really a wish, more like an idle thought.

Mona looked down at the baby and then at her. She could see an excited grin form on the fugitive caretaker’s face.

“No,” Ava said, immediately silencing Mona. She did not need to hear Mona squealing in excitement over this.

  
They both looked back down at the infant in her arms again. The baby was quiet at the moment, looking up at them curiously. It definitely wasn’t a newborn, maybe a few months old? She wasn’t sure. Her knowledge of infants was limited and she has never actually held a baby before. She didn’t even have any memories of holding a baby. _Thanks Rip._

Mona’s brow furrowed “Hey, does she kind of look like Sara to you? ‘Cause she kind of does.”

She looked more closely at the baby and she could see it now. Caribbean sea blue eyes and that little chin dimple, somehow more adorable in miniature. Exactly what she had been daydreaming about.

“Huh,” Mona said interrupting her thoughts. “She’s got your nose? And that’s definitely your hair.”

The baby did have her nose and their soft downy hair was the same shade of honey blonde as her’s.

“We don’t know that it’s a she Mona or even whose baby it is.”

“She’s a she,” a slightly accented and melodic voice said behind them. “That’s what you wanted, a child with the blue-eyed woman you could not stop thinking about.” The genie smiled at her knowingly.

“Aww,” Mona gushed. “That’s so cute.”

Her cheeks burned again. Although she may consider Mona as more than a colleague, a friend even, she did not need her to think that she had lost her edge.

She breathed heavily though her nose. “Mona, this is an accident.”

“So was I,” the caretaker chirped happily. “And my parents love me!”

She adjusted the weight of the baby in her arms and turned to fully face the genie. “Mona, no. That’s not what I meant. This current predicament that I’m in would make it seem like I’m taking advantage of our inmates, which I would never purposely do.”

“Oohhh.” Mona’s face fell at that realization.

She approached the genie, stopping to stand just at the edge of the invisible barrier that surrounded the creature.

“Listen, Ms. Zelema,” she said as authoritatively as she could. “I did not mean for this to happen. You have to take her back.”

Although there was a tiny part of her that didn’t want to, she held the baby out to the creature.

The genie made no attempt to move. “I cannot do that. Once you make a wish, it cannot be undone.”

“I did not wish for this to happen,” she protested.

The genie arched an eyebrow at her. “It was in your heart.”

“It was in my-.” _Are you serious? What kind of Disney bullshit is this?_ She groaned in frustration. “Can I use a wish to send her back to wherever she came from?”

“You cannot wish someone from existence,” Zelema replied calmly.

“But I just wished her into existence and that’s okay?” Her voice was steadily rising in volume with each word.

Zelema shrugged. “I do not make the rules.”

“You don’t make the rules? Oh my god. What do I do with this then,” she asked, her voice growing desperate now.

The genie smiled at her, amusement in her dark eyes. “She is a baby Mistress, you take care of her.”

Panic flared up in her. She was going to get fired or sued or something because this was against the rules and surely unethical. Even worse, how was she supposed to explain this to Sara who was still getting used to the idea of being a partially kept woman. Her chest felt tight with worry now.

“Mona,” she said turning around. “You can’t tell anyone about this. I could get sacked for this.”

Mona gasped and put an honest to god hand to her heart. “I would never do that!”

“Well, thank you for your loyalty, but you probably should report me. I would probably report me.” She was a stickler for rules after all.

Just then the baby gurgled in her arms letting them know that she was very much still here and apparently happy about it. It made her melt a little, but only a little.

“Oh, you’re so cute,” she murmured, momentarily distracted.

She reached down to boop the baby on its tiny nose and was rewarded with a toothless little smile. Warmth bloomed in her chest. That little dimple became more prominent when the baby smiled, just like Sara’s did. A little miniature Sara, a tiny Lance. Dammit, she should not be getting attached this fast.

Mona tapped her shoulder. “You should probably get out of here, Director Sharpe. I can alter the security feeds later.”

“You’re right. I have to get out of here quickly.”

She held the baby more securely against her and had to keep herself from ‘awwing’ out loud when the baby nuzzled her cheek against her chest. Okay, so its possible that she might have a touch of the baby fever.

She took one last look around the room. Mona had moved to fiddle with the cell’s security panel and the genie was watching her, clearly deriving entertainment from the whole situation.

She scowled at the genie and then rushed out the room. The hallway was blessedly empty, but it was impossibly long with security cameras decorating the length of it. She quickened her pace, jostling the baby in her arms slightly as she did. The baby made a few unhappy sounds and she made some half-hearted shushing noises praying that the baby wouldn’t start crying.

“Listen Tiny Lance,” she whispered. “We just have to make it out of this no portal zone and then we can go anywhere, but I need you to be quiet, okay?”

The baby only whimpered in response.

A door opened behind her and a jolt of fear struck her. She still had halfway to go if she wanted to get out of the no portal zone. She was, however, only two doors away from Nora’s holding cell. She made split decision and beelined for Nora’s room, speeding up her pace only slightly as to not seem suspicious. Once inside, she let out a sigh of the relief. She quickly disabled the security cameras and the force field surrounding Nora. She predicted that she had a good 10 minutes before anyone would notice anything was amiss. The baby in her arms was no longer calm, her little face was scrunched up and turning red.

“Is that a baby?” Nora said from a small couch in the middle of the room. “Please tell me you’re not imprisoning babies now, because that is real low Ava even for a suit like you."

“It’s not what you think,” she hurriedly said.

The baby began to let out a few tentative cries. She tried to rock the baby hoping to calm the fussy infant. In her periphery, she was vaguely aware of Nora making her way over to her to peer at the baby in her arms. She ignored the witch in favor of making more shushing noises.

“Come on, baby. Don’t cry.” This only prompted the tiny infant to do the exact opposite.

“Does this baby kind of look like Sara to you?” Nora’s eyes widened with horror. “Oh my God, did you…? How long have I been in here?”

Ava’s head snapped up at the sound of panic in the witch’s voice. “No Nora, it’s nothing like that. I may have accidentally made a wish. I think? We just brought in a genie,” she finished lamely.

Nora arched an eyebrow at her. “A wish?” And then a Cheshire like smile spread across the witch’s lips. “Ava Sharpe, did you wish to have Sara Lance’s baby? How unexpected.”

Ava went bright red. She might as well have been caught writing Mrs. Lance all over her Bureau issued legal pad. And okay, she only did that once. Once!  
“It was an accident and it wasn’t even a real wish. I never said it out loud,” she protested.

Nora grinned at her. “But you were thinking it, apparently.”

“I-. Fine,” she conceded. “It was just an idle thought, okay?”

She winced as the baby let out a particularly shrill cry interrupting their conversation. Everything she did seemed to be making the crying worse.

Nora sighed and held out her arms. “Here, let me.”

She passed the baby over without a thought, a testament to how far the two have come in their friendship in the months that Nora Darhk has been an inmate at the Time Bureau. She was working on Nora’s case, gathering evidence, and trying to find a way to get the witch out on parole, but it was taking more time than she would like. She watched as Nora adjusted the blanket more snugly around the baby. In Nora’s arms the cries became whimpers, which were then reduced to soft snuffling sounds, and then finally quiet.

“How did you do that?” She asked, somewhat impressed.

Nora shrugged. “I was a foster kid before I was in a cult. Older kids always helped take care of the younger kids.”

“Right.” Ava said slowly, reminded again of how tragic Nora’s life had been.

Not taking her eyes off the baby Nora asked, “So, what are you going to do?”

She ran a hand frustratedly through her hair. “I have no idea. Apparently once you make a wish, you can’t undo it and you also can’t wish someone out of existence.”

Nora let out a snort of laughter. “Well, let me be the first to congratulate you and Sara on your new daughter.”

Ava glared at the witch. “It’s not funny. I don’t even know what to do with a baby.”

“So, what _are_ you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I just need to get her out of the Bureau safely and then figure something out from there.” She looked at the bundle in Nora’s arms thoughtfully. “I going to need Zari to create a birth certificate for her and a social security number,” she said, thinking out loud.

Nora’s brow furrowed. “You’re keeping her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? I mean what else am I supposed to do?”

“You could put her up for adoption,” Nora suggested.

Her heart clenched uncomfortably at the thought and it must have shown on her face.

“Or not,” Nora said quickly.

The thought of giving Tiny Lance away just didn’t settle well with her for some reason, but how would she explain to everyone that she had a baby now, a baby who looked very much like her girlfriend? She could say that she had been on an adoption waiting list and had finally gotten a call. Was that believable enough? Was she getting too invested in this baby she’d only met 20 minutes ago?

Nora held out the baby to her and Tiny Lance was carefully transferred back into her arms. She glanced over at the video feed on the security panel. The hallways were clear now and she should probably get out of here.

“I wish I could be there when you tell Sara.”

Ava tore her eyes away from the panel to see Nora grinning at her, feline eyes sparkling with amusement.

“You’re a terrible friend, I hope you know that,” she said indignantly.

Nora’s features softened slightly. She had never acknowledged their friendship out loud before and Ava supposed that between foster care and being a vessel for a time demon, there probably wasn’t much time for making friends.

She held Nora’s gaze and smiled. “Thank you for your help. I have to get out of here before anyone discovers what I’ve done.”

Nora nodded. “Go, get out. And if you’re looking for a name for her, Nora has a nice ring to it.”

 

0oo0oo0

 

The hallways had miraculously stayed clear once she left Nora’s cell and she somehow managed to portal to the Waverider without raising any suspicion. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to smuggle a tiny human being out of the Time Bureau.

“Note to self,” she said aloud. “Security protocols need to be refined.”

“Bah!” the baby exclaimed.

She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her lips. “Exactly, Tiny Lance. I’m so glad you agree with me.”

“Gideon, can you tell me who else is on the Waverider?”

“There is currently no one on the Waverider. Captain Lance and the rest of the Legends are in colonial America dealing with a fugitive.”

“Perfect.”

She had no idea how she would explain her predicament to Sara if she ran into her just now. She needed some time to think. Could she even keep this magically made baby? Made not born, just like her. She couldn’t turn the baby in to the Bureau. She didn’t even know what would happen to Tiny Lance. There was no protocol for something like this. And the thought of giving the baby away, even if it was for her own protection, just didn’t sit right with her.

She went to the med bay and picked up one of the medical wristbands. She had to hold the band to the baby’s wrist, while Gideon conducted her scan. She’d have to ask Ray later to build a smaller band for future medical visits. If she decided to keep the baby that was.

“What the hell-.” She paused, noticing ocean eyes watching her intently. “What the heck am I supposed to tell Sara?”

They’ve never even discussed children and only kind of danced around the topic of marriage. She knows that Sara is slightly skittish about commitment and taking those big steps, but she also knows that Sara loves her and is 100% committed to their relationship. She just needed to take things slowly and bringing a baby into their relationship was definitely not taking things slow.

“Director Sharpe, the results for the medical examination are ready if you’d like to hear them,” Gideon said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Go ahead, Gideon.”

“It appears that the baby is a 4-month-old female in perfect health.”

“Well that’s good news,” she said half to herself and half to the infant resting in her arms.

“Also, the baby’s DNA is composed of genetic material from both you and Captain Lance,” Gideon revealed. “She is genetically yours and Captain Lance’s daughter. Congratulations, Director Sharpe.”

This shouldn’t really surprise her because this is exactly what she had been thinking about, but she froze up at AI’s words anyway. She took a moment to stare down at the baby in wonder. Being a clone and all, she didn’t even know if it was physically possible for her to have a baby.

A thought occurred to her suddenly. “This is probably an idiotic question, but I have to ask because of her origin. She isn’t like made of magic and going to disappear at any moment, is she?”

A few seconds passed and then. “Baby Sharpe-Lance appears to made of the same cells and tissues as any other human being and does not contain any magic. She is a normal human infant.”

So, this was a permanent thing now. Something that definitely couldn’t be fixed with more magic.

_Oh god, I have a daughter._

She took a deep calming breath. “Right, thank you. And Baby Lance will suffice. Sharpe-Lance sounds ridiculous.”

_And Sharpe is just a made-up last name anyways._

“Am I to understand that in the distant future, you would like to be referred to as Director Lance?”

Ava shook her head at the ceiling. “Cheeky bot. Do you think you could fabricate a onsie and maybe some diapers and formula?”

“Fabricating baby essentials right now.”

“Thank you, Gid-. Ouch!” She exclaimed as Tiny Lance tugged sharply on a lock of her hair. “Hey now, that wasn’t very nice.”

She untangled the small hand from her hair, but the baby continued to shake her little fist. “Hair is not a toy and you would know that if you had more.”  
She ran her fingers through the feathery honey blonde hair covering the baby’s head. It was incredibly soft.

“What kind of conditioner do you use?”

Instead of getting a reply Tiny Lance tugged sharply on her hair again. She winced and gently pushed the baby’s hand away. “Yeah, okay I deserved that. You’re a baby. Stupid question.”

“Agent Sharpe,” Gideon said above them. “You will find a diaper bag with baby essentials in the fabrication room.”

Once she acquired the diaper bag, which was a calming lavender color, she searched through the contents pulling out a diaper and a lavender onsie decorated with little daisies. With some instructions from Gideon she managed to get the baby dressed. She searched through the bag again and found some truly adorable matching lavender socks. She only spent one minute cooing over them, which was a real feat because baby socks were so cute, like ridiculously cute.

“Hey Gideon, can you make one of those baby backpack things?” She looked down at Tiny Lance. “My arms are already sore from carrying you around. Guess I’m going need to add more push-ups to my workouts, huh?”

“Fabricating one papoose.”

She packed up the baby bag and strapped the now sleepy infant to her chest. The papoose was also lavender, which was apparently going to be Tiny Lance’s color. She had every intention of sneaking off the Waverider and back to her DC apartment, but before she could even open up a portal, Nate Heywood walked into the medical bay.

She jerked back in surprise and the motion startled the baby, setting off a round of crying. She tried futilely to calm the baby. Nate, still in his Bureau suit, froze at the scene in front of him, clearly not expecting to see his boss/friend holding a baby.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” she spit out.

“I don’t even know what this is supposed to look like,” Nate said still wide-eyed. “Whose baby is that? Are you babysitting?”

“Director Sharpe is currently holding her and Captain Lance’s daughter,” Gideon said helpfully.

“Gideon!” Ava admonished. _The traitor._

“Your daughter? You have a -. Is this an anachronism?” Nate sputtered.

“No, it’s not an anachronism. It was an accident. I didn’t mean-.” The baby’s cries were reaching a fever pitch, drowning the sound of her voice out. She tried walking and bouncing, but that somehow made it worse. Between Nate throwing questions at her and the baby’s screams, she felt frustrated and a little helpless about not knowing what to do to calm Tiny Lance. Actually, she kind of felt like crying herself. “Nate stop! Can you just…help me?” She begged.

Twenty minutes later, after some formula and an unfortunate spit up accident involving her favorite standard issued blazer, Tiny Lance was finally asleep in her papoose. They took a seat at the dining hall table, both a little worse for wear. When it was clear that the baby was going to stay asleep, Nate began asking questions again.

“Okay, so are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

She scrunched up her face, heat already starting to rise in her cheeks. “Right, so it started earlier today when we brought a genie to the Time Bureau.” And then she proceeded to tell him the whole embarrassing story up until he showed up.

Nate to his credit didn’t laugh at her or crack any jokes about her wanting Sara’s babies. When she was done with her story, Nate leaned back in his chair, looked at her and then at the baby.

“Huh, so you’ve got a kid now. Does Sara know?”

“No, and you can’t tell her. At least not yet,” she added when it looked like he was going to protest. “I just need to figure out how to tell her? And maybe figure out a plan B if things go south.”

She bit her lip and looked down at the baby sleeping against her chest. A chubby cheek was squished against her sternum and a little hand clutched at her white button down. She suddenly felt an inordinate amount of affection for this little girl.

“Hey no,” Nate said, once he realized what she meant. “That’s not going to happen. You two will figure something out.”

“But worse-case scenario, what do I do if she doesn’t want to be apart of this. I don’t know the first thing about being a mom.”

Nate put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Well, not that I think your worst-case scenario will happen, but you’ve got me and you’ve got Gary and you know what, probably Mona too.”

“I hope you realize that doesn’t inspire any confidence,” she said dryly.

He put a hand to his heart. “I am hurt, but I’m going to help you out anyways. So, what do you need me to do?”

“Raise this child until she becomes of age.” She quipped.

Nate chuckled. “Anything else?”

“Well, I guess I do need some more things for the baby. I don’t exactly have anywhere for her to sleep. More clothes and diapers would probably be good. Is there any chance you can just get me everything a baby would need?” She said half joking.

Nate looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. “I could call up my cousin and see if she’s free to do a little shopping. She has a baby and would probably know what to buy better than me.”

“Really?” She said in disbelief. “You don’t actually have to do this.”

Nate shrugged. “It’s what friends do.”

Tiny Lance made a little noise and opened and closed her little fist that was clutching at her shirt. She stroked the baby’s cheek until she settled down again and once she was satisfied that Tiny Lance would stay asleep, she pressed a soft kiss to the top of the baby’s head. When she looked back up Nate was smiling warmly at her.

“You’re good with her,” he said.

“Then you clearly missed when I couldn’t figure out that she was crying because she was hungry earlier. Here, take my credit card and get what you think is necessary. Meet me at my apartment?” She pulled out her wallet and then held out a card to Nate.

He shot her some finger guns and grabbed the card. “Can do boss!”

 

0oo0oo0

 

Nate came back with way more baby things than she thought there would be. Who knew babies would even need this many things? And like the good friend that he was, Nate stuck around and helped her baby proof the apartment.

There was a changing table and crib set up in the guest room now, a pack and play and brightly colored toys in the living room. In the kitchen there was bottles and  formula, but there was also some baby food because Nate’s cousin had said that the baby might be ready to start including solid food into her diet.

There was also a car seat and a high chair and a few other items that she hasn’t had the chance to unpack yet. Halfway through setting up the guestroom turned nursery, Ava realized that hiding the baby from Sara would be pretty difficult considering her girlfriend lived with her, well mostly lived with her. Sara tried to split her nights between Ava and the Legends, but lately more often then not, Sara spent her nights with her.

Ava had helped Nate as much as she could, but she did a lot more directing than moving of actual baby items. She had been reluctant to put Tiny Lance down, so helping set up baby furniture and moving things around were kind of difficult. It was just that the baby was so tiny and she was worried she might get hurt if she put her down and turned her back even for a second.

By the time they were done setting up the apartment half the day had already passed. Nate had to go back to work and she ended up calling in sick. She would have to call in sick the next few days too until she could figure out what to do with the baby and Sara.

She wasn’t any closer to figuring out a good way of telling Sara. She could still put the baby up for adoption without Sara having to find out, but that would feel to dishonest considering the baby was technically half Sara’s. Besides, she made this baby. This baby was her responsibility now. Taking care of her was the right thing to do.

Now that Nate was gone, she felt more uneasy about being alone with the baby. She breathed a sigh of relief when Tiny Lance fell asleep minutes after Nate had opened up a portal and left. While the baby slept, she made a makeshift office in the kitchen, rather than using her home office. She spent her free time speed reading the baby books Nate had the foresight to buy her, and googling and youtubing baby things. She pulled out a new binder and carefully labeled it Baby Care Manuel with the label maker Sara got her for Hanukkah.

As the afternoon dragged on into the evening, Tiny Lance mostly slept, cried, and ate. She found that the baby had no interest in solid food, so it looked like she was going to stick to formula for now. She also discovered the joys of changing dirty diapers. Nate who was a master diaper changer, had showed her the ropes before he left. It wasn’t the greatest experience, but it was manageable.

Just as the sun was starting to set, the baby monitor came to life with the sounds of Tiny Lance’s wails. She left her makeshift office at the kitchen table and made her way to the guest room turned nursery. Tiny Lance wasn’t hungry and had a clean diaper, but wouldn’t stop crying. She rocked her and walked around the house singing a little until the baby calmed down.

She made her way to the pack and play crib that was in the living room, but still in her line of vision from the kitchen. The moment she tried to put Tiny Lance down though, she started crying again. She sighed and as soon as the baby was in her arms again, she was met with silence. Out of pure curiosity, she put the baby down and the crying began once more. She picked Tiny Lance back up and the crying stopped.

“Hmm, well that’s interesting.” She said to the baby. She repeated the actions again and got the same results.

“Looks like you just want to hang with me, huh?” A small smile graced her lips at that.

She wasn’t exactly Miss popular at the Time Bureau and most people needed to warm up to her first, so it was kind of nice to be wanted like this so immediately. She pulled the baby closer to her chest and placed a kiss on soft downy hair. Tiny Lance reached up and tugged at her hair.

She chuckled and said, “Let’s go find you an actual toy to play with.”

There were a number of colorful toys and after inspecting her choices, she picked up a bright pink rattle and settled on the couch with Tiny Lance in her arms. She waved the rattle close to the baby, not really expecting a reaction, but was pleasantly surprised when a tiny hand reached up and grabbed the rattle from her. She stared at Tiny Lance in wonder and then watched as the baby began to shake the rattle.

She grinned. “Oh my god,” she exclaimed. “Look at that hand eye coordination.”

She felt her heart swell with pride, which was stupid because this was probably something a four-month-old baby was supposed to be able to do.

“I am very impressed with your performance, Miss Lance,” she told the baby in a semi-serious tone. So, she wasn’t exactly good at complimenting people outside of progress reports and mission debriefings. Another thing she would need to work on.

She startled a little when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Using one hand, she managed to grab her phone while still holding onto the baby.  
The name Sara Lance flashed across her screen with a request for a video call.

“Okay love, you’re going to have to stay quiet for me. Can you do that?” She asked.

Tiny Lance shook her rattle disinterestedly.

“I’m going to take that as a yes.”

She held the phone up so that only her head and shoulders were visible and accepted the call. Her girlfriend’s face appeared on the screen, looking rumpled and exhausted. The captain’s hair was falling out of her ponytail and a smudge of dirt could be seen across her cheek.

“Hey babe, it looks like I won’t make it home tonight,” Sara said apologetically. “Zari got hurt pretty badly. She’s fine now, but it was kind of a rough day and I just want to stay with the team and make sure they’re okay.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” she lied. As disappointed as she was that she wouldn’t see Sara tonight, it also bought her some time.

Sara squinted at the screen, registering where Ava was. “You’re home kind of early.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but Tiny Lance decided at that moment that was imperative that she shake her rattle. She coughed to cover the noise and put her hand over the rattle to silence it.

“I wasn’t feeling well. Actually, I took the rest of the day off and came home early.”

Sara’s expression instantly changed to one of worry. “Oh babe, I’m sorry. You know what, I’m going to come home and take care of you.”

“No!” She blurted out and then cringed. Could she be anymore obvious?

The worry on Sara’s face was replaced with slight confusion.

“I mean,” she backtracked. “I’ll be fine Sara. It’s just a little cold. All I need is a good night’s rest and I’ll be good as new.”

“Are you sure?”

Just below the phone, Tiny Lance was still trying to shake the rattle and had started to make a few noises of frustration. She went into a coughing fit to try and cover it up.

“Yeah, I’ll be perfectly fine.” She smiled at the end hoping that Sara would buy her lie.

Sara eyed her suspiciously. “You’re not telling me to stay on the ship just so you can work while you’re sick, are you?”

“What? No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.” Okay, she might be overdoing it now.

Sara sighed. “I don’t believe you for one second Sharpe, but I’m going to trust that for my sake that you will at least try to get some rest and take care of yourself.”

“I will,” she said feeling a little guilty. “I mean it.”

“Good.” Sara looked at her for a long moment, eyes sweeping carefully over her features and taking stock. She smiled at the captain and Sara gave her a smiled infused with warmth and affection in return. “I’ve got to go, but please don’t work yourself too hard, okay? I love you, baby.”

The smile stayed on her lips. “Love you, too.”

She ended the call and the screen went blank.

“That was a close one,” she said to the baby. “And you were no help at all.”

She let go of the rattle finally and Tiny Lance shook the rattle with abandon, making little excited noises as she did.

She snorted. “Well, I’m glad you’re happy.”

Eventually, Tiny Lance stopped shaking her toy and her little eyes drooped as she let out an adorable yawn. Ava brought her upstairs and placed her in the crib. She watched the baby for a few moments, but it didn’t look like Tiny Lance was actually going to go to sleep.

“How about we read a story? Nate,” she paused. “Uncle Nate bought you a stack of books and reading is good for brain development, probably.”

She picked up the first book on the top of the stack and read the title out loud. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” She flipped through the first couple of pages admiring the art style of the book. “He certainly is very hungry.”

Tiny Lance appeared to like the story or maybe she just liked the sound of her voice, either way the baby drifted off to sleep.


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the second part. Enjoy!

**Part Two**

Ava had to call in sick to work the next day and told them that she probably wouldn’t be in for the rest of the week as well. She claimed she had the flu and hoped they would just go with it. Unfortunately, Gary was instantly concerned for her health and had insisted that he come over and take care of her, but she begged him off stating that she just needed to rest. Gary might be an absolute goofball and kind of a disaster on most days, but she was definitely touched by his kindness. She didn’t know what she had done to deserve Gary’s undying loyalty.

Early on in the day, she set herself up in the kitchen again and alternated between taking care of Tiny Lance and researching genies and wishes. She came up with a lot of general facts about genies and not much else. It looked like Tiny Lance really was here to stay, like Gideon had said. After that dead end, she went back to filling her Baby Care Manual binder with more relevant information.

The afternoon passed easily enough. Sara sent her a few texts asking if she was feeling better and if she need anything at all just let her know, and just being an all-round caring and loving girlfriend. She was definitely feeling guilty now.

In the evening Tiny Lance was majorly fussy and it felt like nothing would make her stop crying. She tried every thing she could think of, plus whatever she googled on the internet, to try to quell Tiny Lance’s tears. Nothing worked and she honestly felt close to tears herself. She felt like she must be doing something wrong. On top of that, she felt awful that Tiny Lance was so miserable.

She cradled the baby in her arms and did the bounce and walk around her apartment in an effort to try and soothe her. She paused in the kitchen in front of the sliding glass door, looking out at the twinkling lights of the city.

She stroked Tiny Lance’s soft cheek tenderly. “What’s wrong, my love?”

Tiny Lance only continued to cry and flail her tiny arms frustratedly. Eventually after what seemed like many hours later, she got the baby to stop crying and put her down to sleep. She stared down at the little infant in her crib. Tiny Lance looked so sweet when she was asleep. She felt overwhelmed with affection again, with something that was dangerously close to love. She stayed and watched the sleeping infant for longer than was necessary.

She gently closed the door to the guestroom turned nursery and made her way back to the kitchen to continue working. She knew that the silence would be short lived because Tiny Lance was going to want to eat again soon.

About half an hour into reading articles about tummy time, two things happened. First Sara portaled into her kitchen without warning and immediately started chastising her when the captain spotted her working instead of resting. Two, a few minutes into said chastisement Tiny Lance began to cry.

Sara stopped talking abruptly and looked up at the ceiling, squinting her eyes in confusion. “What’s that noise?”

She jumped up immediately, trying to get Sara’s attention back on her and knocking over a pile of articles in her effort.

“I think I just left the TV on or something,” she lied.

Tiny Lance’s cries grew louder and she felt bad for not going to the infant’s side immediately, knowing that the baby was probably starving by now.

Sara tilted her head questioningly in a way that was vaguely cute. “That doesn’t sound like the TV. Is that crying?”

She quickly stepped in front of Sara, trying to block her off. “What? No. I don’t hear crying.”

Unconvinced, Sara brushed past her and hightailed it up the stairs. She followed behind, thundering up the steps, knowing that their loud footsteps would just upset the baby more. By the time she made it to the guest room, Sara was already leaning over the crib inspecting Tiny Lance as she flailed and shrieked unhappily.

Sara turned jerkily in her direction, ocean eyes wide in in shock. “Did I portal into the wrong time again? Shit, is this the future?”

“No, its not,” she hurriedly assured the captain. “It’s the right day and year.”

“Then please explain to me why the guest room is now a nursery,” Sara asked, voice steadily rising. “When did this happen? This room wasn’t like this yesterday morning. Whose baby is this?”

Ava put a hand on the back of her neck and anxiously played with the short hairs at the base of her head. She trained her eyes on the floor, feeling too nervous to even look the captain in the eyes.

“Well she’s… mine.” _Ours._

Sara’s lips formed a thin line and she could see the beginnings of irritation flaring in the captain’s features. Things were going south fast.

“Yours?” Sara said incredulously. The captain pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed deeply. “Did you take in a baby without telling me? Me, the person who lives with you.”

“Not on purpose!” she explained quickly.

Sara looked at her skeptically. “I’m going to need more than that, Aves.”

She looked at Tiny Lance who was still in distress and then back at her girlfriend who seemed to be almost at the end of her rope. She wasn’t really used to being the one in trouble. Sara was the one who typically got embroiled in all sorts of shenanigans, but these were extenuating circumstances.

It was time to face the music. She stood up straighter and clasped her hands behind her back in her default stance. “We brought in a genie yesterday, that had been wreaking havoc in 1920’s New York City, and well, an incident occurred while we were getting the fugitive settled into their holding cell. Apparently, wishes don’t have to be verbal. Genies can read minds and this particular genie read mine. I happened to be thinking about babies at that moment and the next thing I knew she just appeared in my arms. I can’t undo my wish and I can’t wish her out of existence according to the genie, so I’m stuck with her.”

Sara looked at her dumfounded by her explanation. “So, you just decided that the best course of action was to what… bring her home and raise her as your own? And you decided that you weren’t going to consult me or even tell me that this had happened so we could work together as a team to figure it out?”

“I…yes?” She said helplessly. Her plan did sound pretty ridiculous when she said it out loud.

Sara’s cheeks were flushed with anger. “Can you even keep her? Isn’t she a magical creature?”

“She’s human. Gideon said so.”

Tiny Lance’s cries were reaching a fever pitch now and she couldn’t ignore her anymore. She scooped the baby up and cradled her close to her chest.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said gently. “Sorry, we’re talking so loudly.”

She smoothed the baby’s ruffled hair and rocked her just a bit. The effect was instantaneous. The cries quieted down to whimpers and then snuffling sounds. When she looked back up, she found the captain regarding her curiously, ocean eyes jumping from the baby and then back to her.

“She’s hungry, Sara. I’m just going to warm up a bottle.”

She escaped the room as quickly as she could holding a hungry, grumpy baby. She just needed a moment to gather her thoughts. In the kitchen, she prepared formula and then put the bottle in the bottle warmer and waited.

The combination of making the formula and trying to figure out what to say to her girlfriend kept her mind preoccupied, which was probably why she missed a certain ex-assassin creeping down the stairs to silently observe her in the shadows of her own apartment.

She walked around the kitchen while the warmer did its thing, completely unaware of the set of ocean blue eyes tracking her every move. Tiny Lance started to squirm in her arms as they waited and it was only then that she noticed the baby’s bare foot. The tiny sock in question had somehow managed to fall off near the kitchen table.

“Oh no,” she murmured to the baby. “You dropped your sock. Your little foot is going to get cold.”

Tiny Lance kicked said little foot in response and she chuckled in amusement.

She hated to admit it, but the baby talk just tumbled out of her now. She never thought she would be someone who did that sort of thing, but it was kind of hard not to. She bent down carefully, mindful of the infant in her arms and picked up the tiniest cutest sock she had ever seen. At this point she’d seen quite a few socks, but the novelty of it still hadn’t worn off. Maybe it never would.

She inspected the sock and cooed over it. It looked so much smaller in her hands. “Oooh, look at your teeny little sock.”

Tiny Lance giggled in response and she knew she was done for now. Her mood instantly lifted despite being in the middle of an argument with her girlfriend. She slipped the sock back on and held the still giggling baby up in front of her.

“Do you think that’s funny, Tiny Lance?”

Apparently, she did because more of those infectious giggles came spilling out past tiny rosebud lips. Unable to resist, she kissed the baby’s chubby cheeks. That now familiar warmth blossomed in her chest again and unbridled affection for this tiny person that she hardly knew spread throughout her body. When the bottle was finally warm enough, she settled herself into an armchair in the living room. She re-positioned Tiny Lance in her arms before moving the bottle closer to the baby. She watched in wonder as Tiny Lance eagerly took the nipple of the bottle into her mouth and grasped the bottle with both hands.

_Such a strong grip._

“Look at you, champion eater.”

As Tiny Lance sucked ravenously at the formula, she stroked at the tiny fingers that were gripping the bottle.

_God, she’s so cute._

A creak of a floorboard alerted her to the presence of another person in the room. It was the ex-assassin’s way of letting her know that she wasn’t alone without scaring her half to the death. Sara stepped out of the shadowy hallway and approached her hesitantly, stopping just a couple of feet shy of her looking uncertain. The captain seemed to make up her mind then and perched on the arm of the chair.

“Tiny Lance?” Sara questioned, eyeing the two of them with interest now.

She blushed. “She has blue eyes like you and she’s…”

“Tiny,” Sara finished for her.

She shifted nervously in the armchair. “Yeah. I can stop calling her that, if it bothers you?”

Sara shrugged noncommittally and focused her attention on Tiny Lance, looking the infant over very carefully. The captain stopped her inspection suddenly and tilted her head to the side, brow furrowed just slightly.

“We do have the same color eyes,” Sara observed. “She has a chin dimple and your nose? That’s definitely your nose, Ava.”

Ava could hear the confusion in her voice. So maybe she hadn’t explained the situation well enough because Sara was clearly unaware that this was their biological daughter. How the hell did she manage to leave that out of her explanation?

Now she was going to have to tell her the whole cringe-worthy story.

She took a fortifying breath and then began. “Right, so I don’t think I mentioned this before when we were upstairs, but…she’s kind of ours. Yours and mine, genetically I mean. When I made the wish, which wasn’t really a wish, just an idle thought really.” She had to bite her lip to stop herself from rambling.

Sara turned to look at her curiously, prompting her without words.

“I was kind of daydreaming when I shouldn’t have been. I was thinking about you.” She knew her cheeks were bright red by now, embarrassed about what she was about to admit. “I was thinking about maybe wanting to have children, your children, and what they might look like. There was obviously a fantasy element involved because technology isn’t that advance in our time yet and just to recap, the genie can read minds and yeah, this happened.” Now she was full on rambling.

She looked up at Sara, her body tense expecting some kind of reaction, but the captain didn’t say anything just kept staring at her with an unnerving intensity. She quickly looked back down at the Tiny Lance when she felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes.

_So, this was how it was going to end?_

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand brush a loose lock of hair behind her ear. Sara brushed a couple more wayward strands of hair back and then put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The tension in her body lessened, but didn’t leave her completely. So, it wasn’t over yet. She hoped.

Sara sighed tiredly. “It’s getting late and I’m exhausted. Let’s just sleep on this for now.”

“Right,” she croaked. She hunched over Tiny Lance trying to hide herself away from Sara.

“Aves,” Sara said worriedly.

She stood quickly, still facing away from the captain. “I’ll sleep in the guest room.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Sara whispered.

She looked at the baby in her arms with desperation. Now that she was at a crossroads, the decision wasn’t nearly as easy as she thought it would be. She felt like her heart was being pulled in two directions. She didn’t know if she could deal with loosing either of them.

Her lower lip wobbled as she tried determinedly to speak without breaking into tears. “I know. It’s…I want to be close to her.”

“Okay,” Sara said and left it at that.

 

0oo0oo0

 

Tiny Lance woke up crying in the guest room turned nursery ready for a nighttime feeding, but even after eating the baby was still upset. She thought maybe Tiny Lance sensed her turmoil, could feel her doubts and fears and her frustration at not knowing what to do. She brought Tiny lance into the guest bed with her, leaning against the headboard as she cradled the tiny infant in her arms. The cries must have woken Sara up, because the captain suddenly appeared at the doorway looking adorably sleepy and slightly rumpled.

Ava looked at her apologetically. “Hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

Sara smiled tiredly at her. “It’s what babies do, Aves.”

To her surprise, Sara made her way over to the bed and sat next to her, close enough that their shoulders were touching. The captain leaned over and peered down at the baby, coming into Tiny Lance’s field of vision. The baby’s cries started to quiet down as two pairs of identical ocean blue eyes focused on each other.

“Oh, that’s so not fair,” she grumbled.

Sara chuckled. “What can I say? I’m a baby whisperer.”

She couldn’t stop looking at the pair with hope in her heart. They were like a little family, the three of them, or they could be.

“God, she looks so much like you.”

“She really does,” Sara said somewhat in awe. “But that’s definitely your majestic mane she has.”

“Look Sara, I-.”

But before she could really begin Sara shushed her. “In the morning, babe. It’s late and I need time to process this.”

“That’s fair,” she settled on.

“Good. Now are you ready for sleep kid, because I am.” And like magic Tiny Lance let out a ridiculously large yawn.

She turned her head sharply to look at the other woman. “Okay seriously, how are you doing this?”

Sara smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

Tiny Lance continued to stare at Sara or tried to. Her little eyes were heavy with sleep and struggling to stay open. There were a couple of times yesterday where a song had sent the little girl off to dreamland, but she had never sang in front of Sara before. It’s not that she sounded bad, in fact she actually had a pretty decent singing voice. She was just too self-conscious about it, even after over half a year of dating each other. But she really wanted to get back to sleep, so she could then wake up in the morning and resolve this situation. This sort of purgatory was stressing her out.

“How about a song, my sweet girl,” she murmured to the infant. She could feel Sara perk up next to her, but she kept her eyes on Tiny Lance. She didn’t really know any lullabies, but she did like soft rock and Tiny Lance didn’t seem to mind it yesterday.

Her voice was low and slightly raspy. She sang as softly as she could, slowing the song down and turning it into a makeshift lullaby. She heard Sara draw a sharp intake of breath as she sang the first few lines of the song.

“I could stay awake just to hear you breathing. Watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you're far away and dreaming.”

The lullaby worked like a charm putting the baby to sleep and somehow captivating her girlfriend as well. She only felt a little self-conscious and maybe also a little pleased at Sara’s reaction.

“I didn’t know you could sing,” Sara said to her after.

She shrugged. “I’m okay.”

Sara shook her head. “That was beautiful, Aves.”

Her cheeks turned pink with pleasure.

She returned Tiny Lance to her crib, kissed her forehead, and turned back around to see Sara slipping beneath the covers and holding them up for her. She felt the rest of the tension she had been holding onto leave her body. She turned the lights off in the room and slid in beside Sara. Sara scooted forward not a second later to cuddle her from behind and she couldn’t help the little noise of contentment that slipped past her lips.

Even though she wanted to sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about their current conundrum.

“I panicked,” she whispered into the dark. “And I made a series of dumb decisions. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wasn’t really thinking. God, I don’t really do things like this.”

Sara chuckled behind her. “You really don’t.”

A few moments of silence and then Sara spoke again. “I didn’t even know you wanted kids. Especially after Camp Ogawa.”

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned.

She could feel Sara shaking with silent laughter. She nudged the captain with her shoulder in retaliation.

“Jerk. Honestly, it’s only something I started thinking about recently. I’ve been thinking about us and our future together and how a baby with you might be nice. But having a baby right now was definitely not in the plan.”

“You’ve got a plan?”

“More like a loose itinerary,” she conceded.

Sara snorted. “Dork.”

She scoffed. “Whatever. I have a plan and that plan includes being with you for as long as you’ll have me. And a baby is a new addendum, but preferably after marriage.”

“Marriage?” She could hear the surprise in her voice. God, she was going to scare Sara away.

She backtracked. “I mean if that’s something you’d be into. I love you Sara and one day when we’re both ready, maybe marriage could be in the cards for us?” _Is it too soon to say this?_

“I think I could be into that. In the future,” the captain quickly added.

“Right, in the future.” And after they’ve had an actual talk about all of these serious relationship goals.

Sara sighed. “Aves, I love you, but it’s time to get some sleep before someone wakes up crying.”

“Okay, but in the morning…?” She said hesitantly.

“In the morning, we’ll talk,” Sara assured her.

She felt Sara kiss her shoulder and then smiled when Sara pulled her closer.

 

0oo0oo0

 

Morning came and the bed next to her was empty. She felt a surge of disappointment, which abated only slightly when she felt that the empty spot was still warm. Maybe Sara had just gone to the bathroom?

She glanced over at crib and let out a gasp when she found it empty. Panic flared up inside her and she was instantly alert. She searched the crib as if the Tiny Lance might be hiding in its corners. Her heart rate picked up and her breaths were beginning to come in faster and shorter.

_Where was she? What if Gideon was wrong about Tiny Lance?_

She glanced back at the empty bed and shook her head. Sara might not be thrilled that there was a baby in their apartment, but she would never do anything so drastic. She quickly squashed that thought, feeling horrible for even thinking it.

She threw a soft gray robe over her night clothes and hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen where she was met with a sight that made her stop in her tracks. She found her missing girlfriend and baby. Sara had Tiny Lance in her arms and her phone balanced between her shoulder and ear on the side Tiny Lance wasn’t occupying. As the captain spoke on the phone (probably with a Legend), Tiny Lance babbled along like she was also involved in the conversation. It was really cute.

Sara was still in her pajama shorts and tank top, while the baby was still in her lavender sleeper. Both had adorably sleep tousled hair and it made her wish she had her phone on her so she could snap a few pictures.

She walked closer to the pair, and Sara turned in her direction flashing her a little smile. Tiny Lance’s babbling became louder and more excited as she came closer. She smiled and kissed the baby’s chubby little cheek, before giving Sara a quick peck on the lips.

“Morning,” Sara murmured.

“Mmm,” she hummed, eyes still going back and forth between the baby and Sara.

Sara said a few more things to the person on the phone before hanging up and turning back to her. “We didn’t wake you, did we?”

“No, not at all.” She paused and then added, “Just gave me a little heart attack when I saw the empty crib.”

Sara’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh babe, sorry I didn’t think.”

She shrugged and glanced over at the counter to see an empty formula bottle. “It’s alright. Besides, you fed her and saved me some work.”

“Well, I watched you make a bottle last night and she seemed hungry.”

She nodded and then held out her arms to take Tiny Lance who was still babbling.

“So chatty this morning,” she said amusedly.

When she looked back up, Sara was looking at her with an apologetic expression on her face.

“So, it looks like I need to go back to the Legends. They’ve sort of stumbled into something and need the guiding hand of their captain to get them out of it.”

She snorted. “Of course. How do they even function without you?”

Sara rolled her eyes. “They’re capable okay? Most of the time. Okay, half of the time.”

She grinned at the captain and tried hard not to laugh.

“Okay, little Miss Time Bureau, I’m going to put on some clothes and then go to the Waverider for a few hours, but when I get back,” her girlfriend said more seriously. “You and I are going to have a talk.”

Sara pointed at her to emphasize her seriousness, but only managed to capture the attention of her tiny namesake. The baby reached for Sara’s finger, grabbing onto it and trying to bring it to her mouth.Laughter spilled from her lips as Tiny Lance ruined the serious moment. Sara, pulled her finger back, the corners of her lips quirking up as the captain tried to restrain her smile.

“I’m still mad at you,” Sara said, but there was a softness to her voice. “Don’t think you can distract me with all this cuteness.”

“It wasn’t intentional. I assure you.”

After Sara went upstairs to get ready for the day, she set up shop again in the kitchen and strapped the baby into her high chair. The table was covered in an assortment of baby books, some printed articles, and her Baby Care Manual binder. She was deeply engrossed in a book, when her girlfriend returned to the kitchen after showering and changing.

Sara stood in front of the table taking it all in and quirking an eyebrow at the binder.

“Preliminary research,” she explained.

The captain shifted from one foot to the other seeming a little uneasy now. She gathered that Sara was probably realizing that the possible permanency of a baby in their house was very real.

“Right, well I’m off, but I’ll be back soon. Text if you need anything, okay?”

Sara leaned down to kiss her good bye and then stopped at the high chair pausing a moment before ruffling Tiny Lance’s hair.

“Have a good day you two.” And then Sara opened up a portal and left.

Once her girlfriend was gone, she continued working. She didn’t get nearly as much research done as she wanted to because she kept getting distracted by Tiny Lance. What she did manage to do was take way too many pictures of the baby. She sent some to Nate and then updated him on the situation. He was supportive as always and exactly what she needed.

On a whim, she took a selfie with Tiny Lance, both of them smiling in the picture. She had every intention of sending this one to Nate too, but accidentally sent it to Sara instead. She froze, panic welling in her instantly. It was probably a little too early to start sending baby pictures to her girlfriend.

Her phone started to ring a few seconds later and she had no choice but to answer the video call.

“Well, that was rude,” Sara said the instant her face popped up on the screen.

“Sorry?”

“You know I told you to stop distracting me with cuteness, because that pic was all kinds of adorable. You’re really not fighting fair.”

“Uh, sorry?” She said again.

Sara smiled kindly at her. “Don’t worry about it. So, I’m almost done here and I’ll be back in like an hour.”

“Good, that’s good.” But it really wasn’t. She wasn’t looking forward to this much needed discussion about what the hell they were going to do with this baby.

“So, what have you two been up to?”

“Well,” she started, glancing down at the living room floor where Tiny Lance was laying on a blanket and playing with what was now her favorite toy, the rattle. She wished she had introduced her to some quieter toys first.

“Not much. I researched, she slept. We played peek-a-boo. We ate some lunch. She spit up all over me and I had to change my shirt. The little demon. She gets that from your genes.” It was meant to be a joke, but she was worried it might have missed the mark.

“Oh, you’re really going to blame my genes?” Sara said playfully. Thank god.

“The Lances seem to be a handful, according to your file.”

“Are you sure it’s not your genes, because recently a certain Director wished a baby into existence and then smuggled her out of the Bureau,” Sara teased.

“I…panicked. A lot.”

Sara snorted. “An understatement. Where is the little gremlin anyways?”

She made a face at the captain. “Don’t call her that. Do you…do you want to see her?”

Sara nodded, looking a little too nonchalant. She picked up Tiny Lance and held the phone up so it was just the baby on the screen.

“Hey kiddo,” Sara said brightly.

Tiny Lance squealed happily when she finally noticed the screen. She couldn’t tell if she recognized Sara’s face and/or voice or if she was just excited about her phone.

“Looks like she’s happy to see you.”

Sara’s features softened as she gazed down at Tiny Lance from the screen. “Yeah, it does.”

 

0oo0oo0

 

Ava was just starting a bath for Tiny Lance when Sara portaled in. She plugged the kitchen sink and made sure the water was the optimal temperature before setting up the blooming bath flower. When she first saw the thing, she thought it was a plush toy before looking it up and realizing that it was a makeshift tub for the baby to sit in.

She had to admit Tiny Lance sitting in the center of the soft fuzzy flower was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. She had set some hand-written instructions off to the side, just some quick notes she had taken after watching videos and reading articles about how to give a baby a bath.

Tiny Lance was surprisingly enjoying bath time so far. She had a pretty big smile on her face and was wriggling happily in the flower as she gently wiped her with a wash cloth. A portal opened just as she was squeaking the little pink rubber duck that she had found tucked away in the bag of bath items Nate had bought.

Tiny Lanced babbled cheerfully and reached for the rubber duck, pulling on it until she finally released it and let the baby have it. Tiny Lance gummed the bill of the duck, content for the moment.

“Seriously,” Sara exclaimed as she walked through the portal and into the kitchen.

She glanced behind her, alarmed at the captain’s outburst.

“Can she be any cuter?” Sara said exasperatedly, coming over to stand next to her. Tiny Lance looked up at the sudden appearance of the captain and let the duck roll into her lap as she squealed excitedly.

She chuckled. “She really likes you.”

“I’m very likable,” Sara said matter-of-factly, before kissing her hello.

Sara leaned down to Tiny Lance next kissing her chubby cheek and tickling her little tummy causing the baby to squirm and giggle. “Aww, is someone enjoying bath time?”

Sara cooed over Tiny Lance a little more and then booped her tiny nose. “That little nose is so cute and those little fingers. Ugh, her little everything,” the captain gushed.

She chuckled at her girlfriend, enjoying how gooey and mushy the captain was getting over Tiny Lance.

“She’s a very little human,” she agreed.

Sara nudged her playfully. “Shut up. I’m not immune to babies, okay.”

Ava arched an eyebrow. “Clearly.”

They finished up bath time with the baby together and then got her dressed and ready for bed. She sang another classic rock inspired lullaby while Sara hugged her from behind, dimpled chin resting on her shoulder, looking on as the baby fell asleep to her song.

“Carry on my wayward girl, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest. Don't you cry no more.”

“I love when you sing,” Sara said as soon as they left the guest room. “Why haven’t you sung for me before?”

“Why? Did you want me to serenade you?” She said dryly.

“Obviously.” Sara paused, her expression growing serious now. “It’s time to have a little talk. There’s only so long we can avoid this, babe.” Sara said, taking her hand and leading her to the living room.

She stumbled just a bit on the way and her stomach twisted almost painfully, but she followed Sara obediently. She had been dreading this moment all day, thinking the worst. She stood awkwardly until Sara told her to sit. They stared at one another, until Sara realized that she wasn’t going to start.

Sara sighed in resignation. “All right, I’ll start. So, you brought a baby home without telling me.” The captain held her hand up when she tried to jump in and apologize. “I know you’re sorry, Aves. I know you panicked and made some rash decisions without me.”

She looked down at the floor feeling slightly ashamed.

“But this is big,” Sara continued. “I only agreed to move in with you, well mostly move in with you, a month ago. And I’m ecstatic that we took that step, but we’ve barely talked about marriage and we have never discussed kids. I don’t even really know how I feel about kids.”

“But you’re so good with them,” she protested.

“Being good with kids and wanting them are very different things.”

Her shoulders drooped in disappointment. “So, you don’t want them?”

“No, I didn’t say that,” Sara said as she paced in front of her. “It’s not that I don’t want kids, it’s just that I don’t think I should have them because of everything I’ve been through and all the terrible things I’ve done. A monster can’t raise a child. I’ll mess them up somehow.”

“Sara, that’s ridiculous,” she protested heatedly. “You aren’t a monster. You are the kindest, most loving person I know. I learned to love from you. Besides, you are not that person anymore. You help people, you save the world on a daily basis with little regard for your own safety, which I hate by the way. You’re a hero now. You’re a good person Sara. We don’t tell you that enough, but you are.”

She could see tears shinning in Sara’s eyes. The captain tried to turn away from her but she reached out and stopped her. She tugged at Sara’s hand until she turned to look at her.

“And it’s not like you would be doing it alone.”

Sara wiped under her eyes discretely before facing her fully again. “Okay, as sweet as you’re being right now, this isn’t the point of this talk. The point is we have a baby in this house right now. I still can’t believe this happened. A baby, Ava. A baby!”

Her cheeks flushed. “I know what I did.

Sara shook her head in disbelief. “Still can’t believe tough as nails Director Sharpe was thinking about babies. You are such a softy,” the captain teased.

He cheeks were bright red now. “Shut up,” she grumbled.

Sara snickered. “So, you’ve been thinking about having a baby,” the captain started again.

“Yes,” she agreed. “But not right now obviously.” She felt like they were going in circles.

Sara dropped down on the couch next to her. “But there’s a baby here now. So, what are we going to do?”

She had to do this now. Be brave and put everything out on the table. She got herself into this mess. This was her mistake and she had to deal with the consequences. Tiny Lance did not ask to be here, but she was. She brought this baby into the world, so she was her responsibility now.

“I want to keep her,” she answered honestly. “I mean, I know I’ve only known her for like three days, but if anything happened to her I would be heartbroken. She’s special Sara. She’s ours. I don’t want to give her up. I don’t think I can.” Her voice was thick with emotion now. “When I look at her, I can see you in her and I can’t help but love her too. I made her. I have to take care of her.”

“I understand if this isn’t something you want.” She could feel her eyes welling up with tears now. “I’m the one who got myself into this mess and you shouldn’t have to deal with this. It’s too much to ask someone.”

She turned away from Sara then, so she couldn’t see the tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t know what she was going to do without Sara in her life.

“Aves,” Sara said worriedly.

“I get it, if you never want to see me or her again.”

“Ava,” Sara said urgently. “Ava no. We’re in this together. You said it yourself, she’s both of ours. She’s our …daughter. I just needed to know what our plan was. I wouldn’t leave you for something like this. It was a freak accident.”

She looked up in confusion. She had been preparing for the worst.

Sara reached out and held her face in her hands. The captain placed a soft kiss on her forehead and said, “You are the love of my life Ava Sharpe. You are my joy, my light in this world, my home. I am so lucky that you love me despite everything that I am and have done. That you apparently love me so much, you had my baby.”

Her cheeks tinged pink at this.

“And you made the cutest baby I have ever seen,” the captain added.

Sara peppered her face with kisses. She laughed and pushed her back gently in time to see ocean eyes glinting with mischief.

“I hope you know this gives me license to mock you forever.” Sara smirked at her. “You just wanted to have my baby so bad.”

She rolled her eyes, but still couldn’t help her blush. “Shut up. I know I’m pathetic okay.”

Sara pulled her into her arms and kept her there. “So, we have a baby now.”

She hummed in agreement. “We sure do.”

“Is it bad that I’m freaking out already?”

She pressed a kiss to Sara’s cheek. “I would be really worried if you weren’t, my love. Lord knows I’ve been on the verge of a major break down these last few days.”  
Sara pulled away from her and looked at her contemplatively. “Okay, so we need to come up with a plan. Right? We’re going to need Zari to make some documentation for her and a visit to a real doctor, and we’ll probably need to get a nanny…” The captain trailed off when she noticed gray-blue eyes looking at her with adoration.

“What?”

She shrugged. “I just love you is all.”

Sara smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly, warm lips moving against hers. She sighed in contentment.

“One more thing,” Sara added. “She needs a name. We cannot keep calling her Tiny Lance.”

She thought for a moment and then grinned. “Eleanor has a nice ring to it,” she said wryly, thinking of her witch friend.

 

0oo0oo0

 

It had been two months since that fateful day she wished a baby into the world. Sara was still adapting to motherhood. Well, they both were really, but things were going really well. It was a little crazy at times and sometimes frustrating and she really missed getting a full night’s sleep, but she could honestly say it was worth it. She was so happy with their little family.

In other news, she finally managed to get Nora out of Time Bureau prison, on the stipulation that she be put under house arrest. The only problem with that was that Nora didn’t exactly have anywhere to live, so for the time being she was staying with them and acting as their interim nanny. Sara was hesitant at first, especially after everything that had happened with Mallus and the Darhks, but she had managed to convince the captain that Nora deserved a second chance.

As for being their nanny, Ava figured that at the very least it would give Nora some work experience to put on her admittedly thin resume and some money in her savings account. She actually had to help the witch open up a bank account. It turned out that being the vessel of a time demon and constantly on the run left very little time for learning actual life skills. Nora didn’t even have a license, not that she couldn’t just magic herself to places, but that’s beside the point.

They had turned her home office into Nora’s bedroom. She really shouldn’t have, but she let Nora use magic to change the color of the walls and the carpet to make it feel more like her space. Since the witch had moved in with her and Sara, Ray had been sneaking into Nora’s room so often that they just ended up giving him a key and leaving an extra toothbrush and a set of towels in the guest bathroom for him. They still think they’re being clever, but every morning when Nora comes downstairs looking all disheveled, she gives the witch a knowing look and snickers when Nora turns bright red each time. She was happy for her friend. She deserved some love in her life.

On the topic of Nora, they decided to name Tiny Lance, Eleanor. She had meant it as a joke, but Sara really liked it. They called her Ellie or El for short. Nora was very smug about it much to her chagrin, but the witch doted on her little namesake. She could live with two Eleanor’s under her roof.

At the moment, they were all gathered around the kitchen table. Ray and Nora were being gross and in love sitting across from her. Sara was flipping pancakes at the stove and singing off key and she was trying to feed Ellie a few bites of baby cereal with little success. It was a typical morning for her strange little family, but she couldn’t be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me on tumblr @KatrinaKenyon.


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